I put on a set of headphone and crank up the music :-) seriously, my trainer is a fan blade type and it is very noisy like turbine wheels spinning at high speed. I don't think it cause by the tire noise.
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user9104Jan 21 '14 at 18:44

+1 - it helps having neighbors noiser than me - I'm in college and my apartment is near all the frats, which means I can do pretty much anything at any time of night without anyone really caring. Trainer at 2 a.m.? Paint the walls at midnight? Rock out at night? Not a problem
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crasicJun 21 '11 at 3:21

There are tires (tacx.com) made specifically for the trainer. They use a different rubber compound that will minimize wear and contact noise. It won't help with the mechanical side of the trainer though.

I cut up some egg crate foam and used it to line a cardboard box that has a large 6 inch wide slit in it for my tire and just put the box over my trainer. This worked extremely well, you just have to be sure to secure everything well so that nothing gets in the way of the trainer and tire.

You can also get thick styrofoam insulation sheets at Home Depot and fashion a box with appropriate slots for wheel and trainer stand. There is special glue to glue the joints of the box together.

Aside from dampening it (foams) or switching to trainer specific tires (which will also last longer, like the Continental Hometrainer), the type of trainer plays a big part. You can have a fan, something thats magnetic , fluid, etc. - the fluid trainers tend to be quieter than the ones which are fans, for example. Even within the same class, some models may be quieter than others. So, you may be able to get quieter operation by appropriate trainer selection.